[2] Work began on the first AP-3C in January 1997 and the original project schedule called for this aircraft to be provided to the RAAF for operational acceptance trials in March 1998 and all upgrades to be completed by the end of 2001.

The systems integration task proved to be much more difficult than was expected, and L3 Communications and its suppliers were required to write over two million lines of software code.

The magazine also quoted an unnamed 'industry source' as stating that all the AP-3Cs have SIGINT/ELINT capabilities "equivalent or better" than those of the Royal Air Force's specialised Hawker Siddeley Nimrod surveillance aircraft.

[4] Jane's World Air Forces states that the RAAF's 19th Orion was converted to an EP-3 signals reconnaissance aircraft in 1997, however, and was operational as late as 2009.

As of 2007, the RAAF's two-aircraft Orion detachment in the Middle East was spending 60 percent of its flying time conducting intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance over Iraq.

[16] The Orions have subsequently formed an important part of Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force's contribution to patrolling Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone.

As part of this operation Orions fly regular missions around Australia's western and northern approaches and report the results of their patrols to Maritime Border Command.

[15] AP-3Cs also periodically conduct patrols over the Indian Ocean, Strait of Malacca and South China Sea from RMAF Butterworth in Malaysia as part of Operation Gateway.

[18] In February 2009 an AP-3C Orion conducted flights over the state of Victoria in which it used its sophisticated cameras to map the damage and destruction caused by the Black Saturday bushfires and to search for survivors.

In December 2015, it was reported by the BBC that an AP-3C Orion aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force conducted freedom of navigation exercises over contested islands in the South China Sea.

[20] The Department of Defence released a statement stating that the Orion had conducted routine maritime patrols between 25 November and 4 December as part of a regular surveillance operation.

[21][22][23] In June 2017 the Australian Government announced that two AP-3C Orions would operate over Mindanao in the Philippines to gather intelligence for Filipino forces engaged in the Marawi crisis.